The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) has been campaigning on behalf of its members across a range of issues in recent times, from criticising Epidemic Sound and Spotify’s Discovery Mode to offering its views on how to fix streaming. Its latest publication is educational: a set of ‘fee and master point guidelines for songwriters based on case studies and opinions from three of ECSA’s members: DPA in Denmark, The Ivors Academy in the UK and VERSO in Germany.
Among its suggestions: that songwriters use these fees or points in the master recordings using their work as a way to get a better income from streaming. “Historically, most contributors in the value chain have received fees and/or points on the master. This includes mix and mastering engineers, producers and even A&Rs in some territories,” suggested the paper. “Songwriters, however, have typically not been part of this fair and balanced ecosystem.”
ECSA is also arguing that any points “should come out of the master owner’s share” (i.e. the label) rather than the artist’s or producer’s.
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